Mechanocratic Ideology
Introduction The Mechanocratic Ideology is the name given to the series of beliefs, philosophies and concepts that are held by a camp of socialists in the Frencoverse, the adherents of which are referred to as 'mechanocrats'. It is often referred to as an offshoot of Marxism-Leninism, but it would be more accurate to suggest that it is an evolution of Marxism-Leninism. It has a considerable cult following in the United Dominion of Asian Peoples, the Unified States of South America and other countries with a strong socialist base, but so far the only country where the Ideology is the official state ideology is Mechanocratic Russia. Etymology 'Mechanocracy' is a portmanteau of 'mechanised' and the suffix '-cracy' (as in 'democracy' or 'stratocracy'), the resultant term referring exclusively to a governmental system ruled by machines – specifically, sentient, artificially intelligent supercomputers. Main doctrines The failure of democracy The Ideology preaches the abject failure of democracy as understood in the modern age as part of its political programme. It argues that, because it allows the politically-illiterate to decide the future of a nation and panders to the lowest common denominator, democracy actually serves to empower the bourgeoisie, who require only a sly tongue and money, for their personal gain at the expense of their electors, the common man. As a result, a truly-liberal democracy will inevitably become a plutocratic oligarchy in which the only political activity demanded from its subjects is the occasional act of voting, and nothing more. Consequently, liberal democracy is doomed to fail because it achieves the exact opposite of its objective to empower the proletariat. The supremacy of humanity The Ideology's prime social tenet maintains that humans, since they are the only creatures with the capacity for reason and logic, are the ultimate beings in the universal order. As a result of that, humans must display the appropriate decorum befitting their station: they must always apply themselves to the best of their ability and maintain their reasoning capacity at all times, never letting their emotions, passions or desires overwhelm them. The lattermost part of the doctrine is often misinterpreted as stating that recreational sex and sexual deviancy as a whole is subhuman, when in actuality only allowing one's desire for such to control them is looked upon in such a light. The other part of the tenet of human supremacy is the demand to use technology to empower humans and upgrade themselves to become truly perfect beings. This doctrine is referred to as 'Neoeugenics', harking back to the old doctrine of eugenics that served as the blueprint for the perfect race of humans bred over the course of generations. Neoeugenics is most often interpreted as requiring cybernetic prosthetics for the purpose of self-betterment, but other enhancements, such as genetic modification, are also covered by the doctrine. The ultimate revolution In line with the doctrine of human supremacy, the Ideology openly professes a strong antitheist attitude. However, it goes well above and beyond the typical hard-leftist profession of the nonexistence of God and states that God is to be considered a direct enemy of humanity and, like the tyrannical bourgeoisie, be overthrown in a full-blown uprising. This is often referred to in mechanocratic literature as 'the ultimate revolution', and is without a doubt an evolutionary step from the Marxist hypothesis of class struggle towards one far greater in scope. It should be noted, however, that ultimate revolution is most assuredly a metaphor: the concept of 'God' is to be considered synonymous with the naturally-imposed limitations of humanity, which are destined to be overcome per the doctrines of human supremacy and Neoeugenics. The Emancipation of Humanity The Ideology's eschatology is referred to as the 'Emancipation of Humanity', a notion that serves as the political endgame for mechanocrats worldwide to establish a utopia. The doctrine of Emancipation mandates that all borders must be broken down and all humans be freed from the restraints of international struggle, bound together under a single world state. This hypothetical 'Mechanocracy of Mankind' would then go out to enact its manifest destiny, conquering the galaxy and then the wider universe for all humans to peacefully reside in, free of all threats and with no boundaries left. In the same way that ultimate revolution is an evolutionary step from class struggle, the Emancipation is to be considered a step forward from the Marxist utopian vision of true Communism. Classical mechanocracy and revisionist mechanocracy There are two main camps of the Ideology that are applied by its adherents: 'classicalist' mechanocracy, which adopts a hard orthodox line to their ideology, and 'revisionist' mechanocracy, which takes an approach that has a greater link to the Ideology's Marxist and particularly Leninist roots. Classical mechanocracy is espoused by Mechanocratic Russia, the Singaporean PROMEK and the UDAP's mechanocratic elements, while the phenomenon of revisionist mechanocracy is more common in the USSA and particularly with the minority Partido por la Implementación de Mecanocracia (PIM). Classicalists and revisionists largely agree on most policies. Where they disagree is their attitude to governance. Classical mechanocrats suggest a system of platonic guardianship, where the government consists of appointed experts in their office's field. To prevent the experts from becoming corrupt and decadent, a mechanised, benevolent and immortal guardian – the supercomputer for which the Ideology is named – is to oversee the management of government and the appointment of the experts in question. Revisionists also accept the failure of representative democracy and the need for a guardian, but argue that the experts should be elected by workers' councils through a system of direct democracy. The guardian, in their view, should act only as a managerial figure, rather than an overarching supreme entity which is above the law. Another field of contention between classicalists and revisionists is how the Emancipation should be enacted. Classicalists believe that direct military force against a capitalist state is the only option, with the expectation that the newly-empowered proletariat would rise in revolt against the opposing government once the Mechanocratic state's armies invade. Revisionists maintain that a takeover of a foreign power must be a purely home-grown affair, with the mechanocracy providing political and material support to a grassroots revolution (as the PIM and its militant wing, the Cazadores, did in the early 2120s in the regions of Frenkish-controlled Central America. The subsequent Imperial retaliation led to the Canal War).